no, white lady, you don't get to define whether someone is a racial minority or not

I e-mailed my Mom, who is a giant Robin McKinley fan, about this (shorter Robin McKinley: Obama isn't black because I say he isn't black enough and anyway, only a woman president would be truly exciting).

My mom has always been my role-model in terms of political and social consciousness. She used to be president of the large New Orleans chapter of the National Organisation for Women; my parents took me on numerous marches including the the march on Washington for the Equal Rights Amendment and various Take Back the Night marches when I was little. But she responded to my email with

well, i am not ready to boycott her for thinking Obama is not black enough-- he Is NOT a liberal, except by the definitions of Reactionary republicans. I love her writing and am ready to give her the benefit of the doubt. It would be nice if my favorite authors had the sense to shut up, though

This hurt me in the foundations of my all-important Parental Pedestal (ask me about my over-identification with my parents and dependency issues some other time), and that's why I poured out this essay on What Was Wrong With McKinley.

This isn't about Obama's politics: it's about the right of people to define their own ethnicity or racial identification, and especially the fact that members of the racial majority don't have the right to define whether someone is oppressed enough.

( An expression of white privilege is an exercise of racism even if it is done without racist intent or consciousness. )

sneakers of the day

Adidas Originals ZX 500 and Steve Madden Fix's "Ahha".

a few racefail post recs

These are the tabs that I've kept open in the past few days.

First, tablesaw's O HAI RACEFAILZ: Notes on reading an internet conflict, about the nature of the conflict, what's happened so far, what's important about it. Also this thread in the comments, where various commenters answer the charge that it's all wank because no "lasting good" has come from it.

2ce's Maybe I'll be a Southron of Harad Someday, also about why this is important:

People of color are being systematically made to feel unwelcome and unsafe in science fiction and fantasy, whether it be as authors, as editors, or as fans. This is a major problem! It is a major problem for me and you. [...]

That’s right: This is the I ♥ RaceFail post. Some of my friends who’re aware of RaceFail ’09 have told me they’re avoiding reading about it, and I think that’s a mistake.

stewardess's Reckless Eyeballing in the 21st Century, about the broader context of racism in modern US society.

One of the handiest things about white privilege is that you can act like a complete jackhole and not even think about why, instead derailing by putting the blame on mean people of color, or on recent unpleasant events which made you cranky. To consign the derailment to the trash heap it belongs in, it's necessary to examine why white people clutch their authority so desperately. [...]

That's because Black people are still violently suppressed in the U.S. Sometimes this is called "the war on drugs," or, as Bill Clinton phrased it, "the end of welfare as we know it." The U.S. doesn't have armed slave overseers who kill with impunity any more unless you count the police. Instead, we put Black men behind bars and execute them. [...]

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wax_jism's awesome new tattoo of eyes on her shoulderblades can be seen here. (It's not completely healed, yet, but this isn't the picture with the drippy blood and plastic wrap, either. In fact, in this light, you probably can't tell that it's less than a week old.)